1. Field of Use:
This invention relates to a pyrotechnic composition having improved flow properties which make it adaptable advantageously to processing on an automatic basis without the hazards of the art relative operating personnel.
More particularly, this invention relates to an improved free-flowing smoke-producing chemical mixture which may be consolidated into a unitary solid tablet on an automatic basis in a substantially less hazardous manner relative operating personnel.
2. Description of Prior Art
Smoke-producing pyrotechnics are hazardous to produce, and much of the conventional procedures used to produce such compositions are carried out on a manual basis. The compositions containing red phosphorous are especially sensitive to flame, spark, static electricity and temperature and may produce deflagration or be ignited into flames during the consolidation procedure when the chemical mixture is reduced to a unitary solid tablet for use in the 81MM mortar shell. As a result of the blending procedure the three main ingredients of the smoke-producing composition, namely red phosphorous, sodium nitrate, and a binder are mixed with acetone to make blending easier. When the acetone is evaporated, a damp, tacky mix is produced for use in the consolidating procedure. From this point in processing, the mix is consolidated into a solid tablet. The conventional procedure of consolidation requires the operating personnel to weigh the pyrotechnic mix into cups, pour the pyrotechnic charge into the mold of a press, actuate the press, release the press, remove the mold from the press, separate the consolidated tablet from the mold, and clean the mold. In actual practice, the best production rate of the consolidating procedure is one tablet per minute. Up to the present time, there are no known devices, systems or processes which would allow production of the cited pyrotechnic into consolidated unitary tablet in other than the above eight-step manual operation.
The basic reason for the use of operating personnel in the cited consolidation process is the resulting physical state of the pyrotechnic composition after the blending stage of the process. The composition is sticky and tacky much like an epoxy glue and the only way it may be handled is manually. However, the pyrotechnic mix is extremely sensitive, and the procedure has demonstrated extreme hazards to operating personnel who are in proximity to such mix during the consolidating stage of processing.
What is needed in the art is an improved composition which would allow the production of consolidated tablets of the cited pyrotechnic in an automatic manner without the hazards of the art relative operating personnel.